Improvement in atmospheric car-brake pipes



G. WESTINGHOUSB, Jr. ATMOSPHERIC GAB. BRAKE PIPE.

Patented'Nov. 29, 1870.

-4 form, as shown at s.

'-conical face of this taper, andan India-rubber UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE VESTINGIIOUSE, JR., OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA..

IMPROV-EMENT IN TMOSPHERIC CAR-BRAKE PIPES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 109,695, dated November 29, 1870.

4 to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, .reference being had to the accompanying drawin g making a part ot' this specification, in which- Figure .l is an outside View of my improved coupling, Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section thereof; and Fig. 3 shows a modification in devices for unseating the valves.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in each.

Among other requirements in couplings for the connecting-pipes of atmospheric brakes for railway cars the following are important: Ease in coupling and uncoupling the pipes; a union when they are coupled together sufriciently iirm and secure to resist an ordinary strain, but still not so firm but that it' a car leaves the track, or its coupling with the next car breaks, the pipecoupling may also separate without injury 0r damage to any of the working parts; and, also, ajoint between the coupling as nearly air-tight as possible. The object of my invention is to secure these ends.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use ny invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and mode of operation.

The male and female part-s AA are made of any suitable material, in any' known way. In the outer ends/of these are fastened the pipe b Z1', to form a connection with the flexible hose required for s uch purposes. The barrels a of the female part and the pipe-end ct of the male part are bored and turned to a uniform size, as near as may beA consistent with ease of coupling'. The forwardy -end of the male pipe c is turned to a conical or taper A grooveis cut in the or other flexible elastic packing-ring, s, is inserted therein, with its face ush or a little above the face of the conical part-s. In the rear end of the barrel c of the female part a conical seat, o, of like size and form as the end a, is bored out,so that when the couplings are together an air-tight joint will thereby be secured but, as a modification of this form ot' packing, the pipe-end a and the barrel a may be bored to a true cylindrical form, and the packing-rin g be interposed between the end ot' the pipe o/ and the shoulder at the buse of the barrel; or such packingring may be arranged in a groove cut in either. For convenience in .removing or renewing the packing, and also to secure a better joint, I make air-holes :z: from the inside of the pipe a/ through into a groove, wf, under the ring s. The pressure of air produced by forcing the air back through the couplings will then be so great that the ring s will press with immense force against vthe face of the conical seat in the base of the barrel a. The valves d, as shown, are of the ordinary form of wing-Valves, except that they have stems c, which project so far forward as to engage and unseat each other when the couplings are together. Vh en they are thus unseated the body of each valve occupies about the middle of a chamber, d', so enlarged as to allow the air to pass around the valve; Any form of valve will answer` for the purpose described-as, for example, a lnap-valve or a ball-valve-provided only the valve itself, or some stem or oth er device connected therewith, shall project far enough beyond its seat to engage the same or a similarly-operatin g device of the other valve. As this feature of my coupling is described in Letters Patent granted to me April 13, 1869, I make no claim to it herein. In connection with the springs m, also described in said Letters Patent, I use an adjustable clamping -ring, a, which embraces them tightly, and is fastened by a screw, o, passing through the outwardly-turned ends a ofthe ring n. By loosening this screw the ring n may be slid forward or back, according to the degree of rigidity of the springs m, which sometimes varies, whereby the hooks c on the ends of .such springs are caused to engage the bead e with the degree of xedness desired, and no more. For ease in coupling and uneoupling the pipes, which commonly has to be done by hand, I cut away the beads c at two opposite sides, as at e, then, by rotating the coupling till the springs m come n opposite to such cut-away parts c, the hooks e are slipped on and off at pleasure7 when, by a reverse rotating, they are brought to the position shown.

'place by guides or by its mode ot' attachment In Fig. 3 I haveV shown the valves d without any stems c for unseating them, as above described, but, in lieu thereof, have shown a separate interposed stem, c', having guidingwings c, to guide it and hold it in .its proper place in the pipe a', in whichit is to be arranged; A

The pipe a maybe chambered out, if so desired, or have an arrangement of stops or lugs to limit the length of motion of the separate stem e', and to keep it in place when the pipes are unconplcd. It will readily be seen that in operation the valves d will, when the couplings are joined as already described, come against the stem e and be thereby thrown back ofi' their seats with like effect as above set forth.

The stem c', instead of having Wings e, n1 ay be hung or otherwise arranged in the pipe a. so as to have a free longitudinal motion within the required limits, and so be held in or arrangement that it shall en gage the valves d and unseat them when the pipes are coupled together; and such construction I claim, broadly, as a part of my invention.

The other features of operation are set forth in the Letters Patent above referred to.

Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire In testimony whereof I, the said GEORGE4 WEsTINGnoUsE, Jr., have hereunto set my' hand.

eno.` wns'rineuonsn, JR.' Witnesses:

A. S. NICHOLSON, G. H. CHRISTY. 

